The Seasons of Love
by friggidyfantastic
Summary: During the spring before their last year of school, Sakura convinces her best friend, Naruto into being friends with an enigmatic boy named Sasuke, whom he doesn't like. Through an unlikely friendship, these three friends discover their own worlds and the world around them together.
1. Chapter 1

She hadn't normally been the type to get herself caught up with guys; she was more focused on her studies and school activities rather than reaching out to make friends Her priorities were more focused on the future, boys weren't important.. Besides, she already had one guy as her best friend, and he's already a handful.

That's why when she saw him, she wasn't sure why she couldn't stop staring.

His eyes and his hair matched in dark color and allure; his skin contrasted with its pale color, and his figure was very skinny. The boy's posture was very upright and he walked with confidence. He was alone; how could someone with his looks be by himself? She saw him walk away silently, already wondering about him. Why was he alone? How was he so pale? Most importantly, who was he?

It's already almost the end of the school year, why would she even think about a guy she didn't even know?

_Part 1: Spring_

"Do you know a lot of people with black hair?" she asked.

"Black hair? A good number of people do, what're you getting at?"

"It's just…Yesterday, after school, I saw this boy." She answered him, shrugging.

He raised a blond eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah, and he was so—"

"—I'm guessing he had black hair, huh?"

She sighed, and ran a hand through her pink hair, it had still been damp from her morning shower. "Two points for the genius—but anyway! He had black hair, and black eyes, and he was so pale and skinny, ring any bells?"

"Hmm, not really…"

"And he looked really lonely. It's weird, wouldn't you think that someone that looks as—"

"Lonely?"

"Naruto, hold on, I'm trying to finish my story—"

"Wait, I think I know who you're talking about!"

"You do? Really?"

"Yeah, that Sai kid, right?"

She shook her head, "Oh—no, not Sai! No, I know him, it's just, this guy—he was just different looking. It was _weird_."

The blond boy made a confused face, "Oh, Sakura! Checking out guys? That _is_ weird…"

"Oh shut up," she retorted, shoving him slightly, "It's not that I _don't_ have an interest in guys!"

"You do?!" an incredulous shout escaped his mouth, "If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that you were into, y'know, girls—"

"Watch it, asshole," she punched his arm.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"You're such a pervert! Just because I'm focused on other things, that doesn't mean I'm not _interested_,"

"Yeah, sure, whatever, Sakura, your manly punches say butch _way_ out loud," he rolled his eyes, and received another punch from her, "Ow, okay, I'm sorry! Geez...Anyway, about this guy?"

"Yeah, anyway, about this guy," Sakura cleared her throat to continue what had happened to her the day before, "I just feel like I haven't seen him before, and the school year's almost over."

"Maybe he's a transfer student?" Naruto asked.

The two friends walked into the school, Naruto following Sakura to her locker. She began to open it, saying, "Nah, I don't think so…but I mean, I don't know. He seemed like he knew where he was going, so I kinda doubt it."

Naruto yawned as Sakura's lock went click to open. "I guess I'll keep my eye out…Man, why does school have to start so early?"

"It's not that early," she replied, grabbing a textbook before closing her locker shut, "At least we don't start until 8:30, some places start earlier, y'know."

Naruto shrugged, and Sakura opened her red textbook, trying to find a specific page. "What're you doing, anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Studying, duh," she replied, "I've got a history quiz today, and I can't afford to get anything lower than a 90."

"Overachiever, Sakura Haruno," Naruto lazily noted, another yawn escaping him.

Whenever she decided to stick her nose in a book while walking the halls, it was Naruto's job to keep her from bumping into things. If it weren't for him, she'd probably be so beat up from walking into walls and poles, and probably not as smart as she was from the lack of studying.

Sometimes, Naruto felt like he doesn't get enough credit for what he does for her.

"D'ya ever think of not studying and walking at the same time?" he asked, "It can get a tad bit dangerous, especially since you're so small and all—"

"I'm not _that_ small, Naruto," Sakura didn't look up at him with her reply.

"Yeah, you are, but—" he lightly pushed her away so she wouldn't run into someone walking the opposite way, "still, what if _I_ wanna study?"

"Well, you never do, so you might as well help me do it in peace."

He sighed, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, anything for _you_, Sakura."

She looked up at him and smiled, "I appreciate it, best friend."

Naruto rolled his eyes, still watching out for the people walking around the halls so Sakura wouldn't run into them. Suddenly, he felt a _bzzzzzt, _a vibration in his pocket.

"My phone never goes off this early," he muttered, looking down to take it out. Unlocking it, he read the message out loud, "Oh, it's from mom…she says 'good morning, and have a nice day.' Have a nice day? Well, isn't that kinda weird?"

"Good morning to her, too." said Sakura.

"Mom never says good morning unless there's—oh, here we go, 'If you can, please pick up some milk after school, whole milk. Ok thanks, bye! Love you XOXO' Geez, my mom."

"Did she really have to type 'XOXO'?"

"Yeah," Naruto groaned, and locked his phone before putting it back into his pocket. As he looked up, he accidentally bumped right into another student.

The blond let out a "Woah!" as he fell backward. Not knowing what had happened to him, Sakura finally looked up from her book to see Naruto on the ground, and another student who was standing.

His dark hair, his pale skin, and his skinny figure were all recognized right away.

"Sasuke." Naruto's face was easy to read, and his tone of voice easy to identify: _I don't like you._

"Good morning, Naruto." his stoic tone replied: _I don't really care.__  
_

The dark-haired boy, now known as Sasuke, proceeded to pass them as Naruto dusted himself off. Sakura continued to stare at Sasuke as he walked further and further away.

"That was so…_weird_." She noted.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah, tell me about it, he just bumps into me and—"

"No no! That's not what I meant…that's the boy!"

"Wait—what bo—"

"The one I was just talking about, don't tell me you forgot!"

"Oh yeah! The one guy with the—are you sure?"

"Yeah! Isn't that weird?" Sakura closed her book and continued to hold it in her hand, "That was him alright…"

"Whatever, I'll give him a piece of my mind when I see him later," Naruto commented, obviously still upset about the other boy's lack of manners.

"W-Wait, so you _do_ know him?"

"Of course I know him!" he exclaimed loudly, "Sasuke's the biggest jerk I've ever met!"

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, it's no wonder he's alone all the time, it's because he doesn't talk to anyone, and if he does, he's usually the meanest, and he's just—ugh, I can't stand that guy!"

_I don't think 'meanest' is a word,_ Sakura thought to herself. "A—Are you sure? He just—he seems sort of nice…"

"_Nice_? Are you _kidding_? Ugh, why did it have to be _that_ guy you decided to like?"

"I—I don't like him, I—I just—"

"He'll _never_ have any friends, I swear. Not with him being arrogant, and demeaning, and just plain mean!"

Sakura sighed, "Naruto, there's no need to be mean—"

"Don't tell me you're gonna side with him, too?"

"Side with him—what's that supposed to mean?"

"Really? Now that I think about it, I'm surprised you don't know him, everyone thinks he's so good-looking and nice and smart, girls love him! Even the teachers! But how could you? He's an absolute _jerk_!"

"Teachers, too? _You_, talk to _teachers_?" Sakura laughed sarcastically.

"N—No, but I went to a guidance counselor once to—well, she _actually _called me down to talk about my grades—and told her about him, and she's just like—," Naruto cleared his throat, and proceeded to mock her with a high pitched voice, 'Sasuke? Uchiha? No, he couldn't! He's such a nice boy!'" he let out an exaggerated laugh to further mock the guidance counselor, and then grunted, "Nice boy my ass!"

Sakura sighed, "Right, right."

"Just take my word for it, Sakura!"

"Okay, geez, fine, just quit being so loud—"

The five-minute bell rang throughout the school, and a voice on the intercom followed, "Students, it is now 8:25, you have five minutes to get to homeroom if you are not there already. Students, you have five minutes to get to homeroom. Thank you, and have a wonderful day."

"Well, there it is. I'll see you later, Naruto."

"Yeah, see ya," he replied, and turned around to walk back toward his homeroom.

* * *

Wow, this is the first story I've put up since...how long has it been, years? It's a little weird, since I've been out of the game for a long time. So, of course, it's a little rusty. I'm just rusty in general.

It's kinda of funny, because I've actually been working on this story for a couple of years. I mean, it's not all written out, but the plot's already planned out for the most part, the characters, etc. I'm glad I decided to put it out when I was a bit older and a bit wiser than when I first wrote it, I think it's a really interesting story, and I would hate to read back on it and think, "Wow, I didn't know anything." But oh well, that will probably be the case when I look back on this story in a couple of years when I'm even older. lol. I just think it's an appropriate time since the story's in a high school setting, and I've been done with it long enough to look back and see how it all worked.

So, this chapter was all about working out Naruto and Sakura's chemistry; I personally thought it was really easy to write, I love the whole best friend relationship, and it flows a lot easier for me than actual romantic conversations (again, something I wouldn't have been able to say if I put this up when I first came up with it). Oh, and to introduce our other main character, Sasuke! I almost forgot to mention that, haha.

Additionally, I was trying to make the dialogue as realistic as possible, I wrote in a lot of dashes, since in many conversations, each person doesn't always finish their sentence. For me, it's rare to see someone finish their thought, and then the other start and finish without being interrupted.

With that said, thanks for reading! I hope I'll stay inspired enough to write this -fingers crossed-!


	2. Chapter 2

"Gosh, where is he?"

Sakura waited, sitting at their usual spot in the cafeteria and a textbook open. "Well, I might as well read, it'll appropriately pass the time."

The cafeteria was noisy as always; there were plenty of tables aligned in a near order, and plenty of students at each table. Some were less full than others, and in turn, less noisy than others. Each table had a predominant group that consisted of most of the members of that table; again, some conversations were easier to hear than others.

"Hey! So are you going to that class meeting today?" Sakura overheard from her left; the people at those tables were generally the more popular and more involved students of the school.

"Oh, is that today?"

"Yeah, I think they're discussing the prom theme, I'm not sure."

"I thought they did that last week...cool! I'm glad my soccer practice got cancelled today."

A little farther down, she couldn't help but notice the brainier students, all with their own textbooks open. A majority of them weren't even eating lunch; just writing notes to reading their books. She was sure that some of them were even catching up on some sleep instead of studying.

Behind her, Sakura could hear a group of students having another conversation.

"I'm going to that show on Saturday, you wanna come?"

"Where?"

"At the youth center, I think they're charging five bucks to get in though."

"That's better than the eight dollar show a couple of months ago...Well, I guess I've got some cash to spare. Anyone good playing?"

"Yeah, remember that band we really liked last time?"

"The one with the cute bass player?"

"Ha ha, yes! They're headlining!"

"No way, then I'm definitely going!"

"Plus, my friend said he could hook me up with a bit of weed. Can't wait!"

"Woohoo, it's a party! Can you pick me up though?"

It was a wonder as to how Sakura was able to study in the cafeteria; at least the brainy kids were able to discuss it with each other or talk about the material, but all she really had was Naruto. That was a guarantee that nothing was going to get done.

Pushing the book away, she decided to buy herself some lunch, "Could you watch this for me?" she asked another student sitting a couple of feet away from her, "I'm just going to go get lunch."

"Yeah, sure," the other student replied, and then asked, "Where's Naruto?"

"I dunno, surprised he's not here yet—must be in the bathroom or something. Thanks," Sakura got up, and proceeded to one of the lines.

Looking around, she saw what other students decided to eat; one line offered cheese sticks with the typical milk and hash browns, another with spicy chicken. She groaned to herself, and wondered if the school will ever provide a good lunch.

Sighing, she spotted the vending machine that held some pop tarts and sweets.

Fortunately, she also spotted something—or rather, _someone _that piqued her interest.

* * *

_"Shh," she said. "I'm sleeping."_

_Just like that. From a hundred miles an hour to asleep in a nanosecond. I wanted to badly to lie down next to her on the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. Not fuck, like in those movies. Not even have sex. Just sleep together, in the most innocent sense of the phrase. But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was—_

"Hi." She greeted. The boy looked up as he met with green eyes. "I—I don't mean to bother you, I mean, you're reading and all, but were you the one that we bumped into this morning?" she asked. Sakura wasn't sure on how to start a conversation; she was never really the type to reach out to other people, like Naruto was. Still, as much as a people-person Naruto was, why didn't he like this guy?

His eyes are so dark, but they're so pretty, Sakura thought.

"Oh. You're Naruto's friend, aren't you?" he replied.

"Yes, I'm Sakura; it's nice to meet you." She smiled at him, and stuck out a hand for him to shake. He seemed wary of it.

"Sasuke," he said, as he took her hand, "Likewise."

His skin was really soft; his touch was comforting, and his handshake was firm.

"Yeah, sorry about this morning, Naruto can be kind of a jerk sometimes," she chuckled nervously, "I'm sure he's sorry for bumping into you like that."

"Hm," was all he said in reply.

He isn't really much of a talkative type, Sakura noted. "S—So, you like to read?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Whatcha reading there?"

He showed her the book without a word.

Her eyes lit up, "Wow, that's a great book," she commented, "I love it! It's really good, you'll love it."

"I'm re-reading it, actually."

"Oh, I don't blame you; it's great, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he replied, "it's all genius, the metaphors, the story, it really is."

"I know what you mean! The labyrinth theme, it's just—he's just such a way with stories!"

"He's one of my favorite authors," Sasuke put his book down, showing Sakura some interest in the conversation.

"Which book is your favorite?"

The conversation flowed naturally; Sakura was happy she could finally talk to someone about books she's read! It would almost be impossible for Naruto to be able to keep a conversation about literature and metaphors and symbolism and the like, let alone get him to read anything at all. Sometimes, she wondered why she was such good friends with him; they were nothing alike!

"Hey, Sakura, whatcha doing _here_?"

That's Naruto's voice! Oh, crap, Sakura thought to herself, he's just gonna give me crap for talking to Sasuke!

"O—Oh...just talking," she replied nervously. Standing up next to Naruto, she turned to her new friend. "It was nice talking with you, Sasuke! I've gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

He smirked, "Yeah, sure, I'll see you tomorrow."

As they walked away, Sakura turned to her friend, and asked, "Where were you? Late to lunch again—"

"But really, what were you doing there? You were talking to _Sasuke_?"

"Seriously, Naruto," Sakura sighed in exasperation, "you're being over dramatic, he's a nice guy."

"Oh, yeah? Nice guy? Everyone thinks he's nice, what is it with you girls?"

She shot a glare with her green eyes. "What does this have to do with me being a _girl?"_

"Look, in my experience, girls tend to like the cool, good-looking jerks! Like Sasuke!"

"Experience? You have _experience_?"

"W—Well—"

"You've never even had a girlfriend—"

"O—Okay, so what? But you know what I mean! And anyway, how would _you_ know? You've been single your whole life, too!"

"That's not important," she loudly whispered, realizing that their conversation was distracting other, not to mention loud. She sighed, feeling embarrassment rush to her face. They sat down as the approached the other table, "A—Anyway! You're being ridiculous."

"Tch, whatever," he scoffed.

"Look, I'm just saying, just give him a chance, will you? He's nice."

"It doesn't seem like he wants to—"

"He's just an introvert, so people misunderstand—"

"Wait, what, introve—"

"Naruto, do you really not know what _introvert_ means?"

"S—So I had a limited vocabulary! At least I'm nice to people, unlike _him_."

Sakura inwardly protested, he isn't even that mean! She inwardly groaned. This was going to take a little bit more convincing than she thought. Who knew Naruto didn't like someone _this_ much?

* * *

"And then, I dunno, she just makes it seem like he's _that_ nice of a guy,"

"Well, maybe he actually is?"

"You can't be serious, come on! You've seen him, he's such a jerk!"

"Everyone's like that once in a while, Naruto."

"He's like that _every_ while in a while!" he retorted and crossed his arms. "I just don't want to be friends with him."

"So why don't you just tell her that?"

"W—Well...You know how she gets…"

"Don't you think it's annoying that she's pestering you like this? If you're gonna do it, do it, if not, then don't; it's already enough of a drag, why drag it out even longer?"

"Shikamaru—" Naruto replied with a sigh, "If I do, he'll probably just insult me, is there a point?"

The other boy next to them with the shaggy black hair laughed and drank a sip of water. "We insult you all the time and you still hang around us—"

"There's a difference between you guys and him, Kiba, you guys are my teammates, my friends, y'know?"

"If that's the logic you're following," Shikamaru replied, stretching his legs, "he's sort of your teammate, too." He pointed over to the group at the track's starting line, specifically at a dark-haired boy in lane 3. "I mean, this is _track team_."

"Oh come on, technicalities, you know what I mean—"

"I didn't know you even knew that word, Naruto." He sneered.

"Shut it, Kiba."

"Anyway, if you go ahead and do what she wants, she'll shut up, you may or may not end up with a new friend, et cetera. Plus," Shikamaru continued, shrugging, "He's wicked talented. Not only is he the only guy that matches your speed out there on the track, but the ladies seem to like him. Be friends with him, you might learn a thing or two. You never know."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, "I—I don't need to learn things, I'm just fine!" he argued, "And I'm definitely faster than him!"

"You should be stretching those arms, not crossing them, Uzumaki!" the coach shouted from afar. Naruto sighed, began to stretch his arms.

Kiba snickered, "With the way things are now, you're definitely _not_ fine—"

"Group 2, line up!" the coach's voice bellowed, and then he blew the whistle. "Uzumaki, Nara, Inuzuka, hurry up!"

Kiba took a last sip of water, before asking, "Anyone else thirsty?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Shikamaru said, jogging over to the starting line.

"I'll take a sip," Naruto answered, catching the water bottle Kiba threw at him. "I'll just leave it here near the line, okay?"

"Sounds good," he replied.

As everyone lined up, the coach began. "Ready and…go!"

* * *

"Wow, what a good practice today, we totally got smoked..."

"I was so sure I shaved off at least thirty seconds off of my mile time..."

"And tomorrow again..."

Indistinct conversations of the boys' track team filled the air faster than the steam from the showers; many people were organizing their things and relaxing, while others waiting in line for the showers; if not, they were already in them.

Shikamaru opened his locker, and glanced at Naruto. "You're not taking a shower, or what?"

"No, no, I am...I'm just waiting for a bit. I'm kinda tired, actually." he laid himself out on the bench, and sighed, feeling the warmth of the bench on his sweaty back. He stared at the blank white ceiling, while trying not to stare directly into the light.

"Who knew you could actually get tired?" Kiba asked.

Shikamaru laughed, "Yeah, you're just a bundle of energy all the time."

"It happens," he chuckled in exhaustion. "I finally got to ten seconds on the 100 meter."

"That's awesome, man."

"Thanks."

So, you guys already took Ms. Yuhi's test today, right?" Kiba asked, taking off his shirt.

"Nah, not yet, our class was—Are you drying your hair with your shirt?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Oh. Just thought it was a bit weird."

"Why? It all gets washed anyway."

"Yeah, I guess." Shikamaru shrugged, "Anyway, our class was taken up by that assembly they had for the upperclassmen today."

"That assembly was kinda intense." Naruto replied.

"But kinda boring too," Kiba noted. The blond slightly nodded from the bench.

"It's important stuff you've gotta know, like the lady said, it's a lot more common than you think." Shikamaru stated calmly.

"I guess it is," Naruto added. "But still, I mean, everyone gets depressed once in a while, don't you think it's a little over-exaggerated?"

Shikamaru answered, "I don't think it's that—"

"Seriously, it's like, if you've got problems, suck it up, y'know? No use killing yourself over it."

"That's a little—"

"There are plenty of other issues going around in the world, why can't people just be grateful for what they have? And just deal with it—"

_Bang _went the locker a little ways away from the trio; the echo from the slammed locker door resonated through the locker room, effectively catching the attention of Naruto, Shikamaru and Kiba, as well as a couple of other team members nearby. In front of the locker was Sasuke, dressed in a dark blue shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. His hair was still wet from the shower that he just got out of, and his face, wearing a dark grimace.

Sensing impending danger, "Uh…I'm just…gonna go shower." Kiba whispered, slowly walking away as Sasuke approached them.

"It's not a hard test at all. Just remember that the height of a person is equivalent to about seven heads, and that blue and orange are complementary colors, not red and orange. A lot of people got those wrong."

The raven-haired boy turned and looked at Naruto quickly, shooting a slight glare at him. Naruto glared back, and kept his eyes on him as Sasuke made his way out of the locker room.

"What got his panties in a bunch?" Naruto muttered to himself. Why did he glare only at me?

"Beats me," Shikamaru replied, then proceeded to walk away, "I'm gonna take a shower now."

"Cool."

"By the way, before I forget, do you need a ride home?"

"No, I'm fine, I'll just walk."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine, thanks though."

"Alright then," he shrugged, "If I don't see you before I leave, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Naruto replied, lying back down on the bench.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder about Sasuke; what did he ever do to him?

* * *

It's a long chapter, weh.

This literally took me the two weeks I didn't update to write this. I know what I want to happen, but it's hard to fill in the stuff that happens in between. Don't worry, I'm planning for the next chapter for something actually major to happen. Hehehe.

I tried to introduce more characters, and more about what they do, etc. And I made Kurenai an art teacher, cuz genjutsu and it's like painting or illusions and stuff. I dunno, I thought it was kind of nifty.

But anyway, I might re-write this actually, my thoughts were all over the place and it was really hard to put my thoughts into the story. I'm overall not so happy with this chapter, soo...yeah. I re-wrote everything like five times, changed how things actually happened, etc. If there's anything I cna improve upon, let me know! I love (constructive) criticism~!

Anyway, I'm just gonna leave this here, meep. Thanks for reading!


End file.
